Moroccan King Mohammed VI on Wednesday appointed a prominent general in charge of operations in the disputed Western Sahara as his deputy in command of the armed forces.

King Mohammed, who is the supreme commander of the army of the country of North Africa, “appointed Lieutenant-General Belkhir El-Farouk inspector general of the Royal Armed Forces,” said a statement released by the agency. MAP official press.

El-Farouk “was selected for this post in view of his professional capacities and the high level of responsibility he has shown in the various missions entrusted to him,” he said.

He “will continue to carry out his mission as commander of the southern zone”, he said, referring to an area which covers Western Sahara.

Morocco considers the former Spanish colony to be an integral part of its territory, but the armed movement Polisario, supported by the kingdom’s rival Algeria, calls for a referendum on independence there.

Tensions rose sharply in November after separatists blocked a key road in the Guerguerat region leading to neighboring Mauritania, arguing it violated a 1991 ceasefire agreement.

El Farouk ordered an operation sending troops to reopen the road.

The Polisario responded by declaring the UN-backed ceasefire null and void, and the two sides have exchanged gunfire on and off since.

Western Sahara is the main bone of contention between Rabat and Algiers, which severed relations with its neighbor last month citing “hostile actions” – a claim rejected by the kingdom.

Morocco controls 80 percent of the desert territory and has offered autonomy there, but insists it must retain its sovereignty.

This position was approved by the US administration of Donald Trump in the last months of his presidency, in exchange for the normalization of Rabat’s relations with Israel.

The sparsely populated desert territory has significant phosphate resources and a long Atlantic coastline with access to rich fishing waters.

The Moroccan army has about 310,000 active people and 150,000 reservists, according to the specialized site Global Firepower.

It cooperates closely with the United States under a treaty that in 2020 was extended by a decade.

In June, the kingdom hosted African Lion, a large annual exercise led by the United States.

AFP